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By JEFF MAKI
Sweden's blackened death metal forefathers Necrophobic have returned with Hrimthursum after a four-year absence. The album's title is taken from Norse mythology, meaning "The Frost Giants," and the sound of Hrimthursum is giant and majestic. The opener, "Blinded By Light," is an onslaught of black metal, with impressive soloing from guitarist Sebastian
Ramstedt. "I Strike With Wrath" opens with a slower riff before trying to lay waste to all black metal which came before it. Necrophobic are masters of making their material brutal, while still having memorable hooks, backing vocals and amazing guitar work. The music of "Age Of Chaos" is not far from Cradle Of Filth's newer material, but this is a good thing that adds more dynamics to the album. Lead vocalist/bassist Tobias Sidegård has an evil, raspy growl, sounding like a medieval warrior leading his unholy forces into battle.
The middle portion of the album is a war of unrelenting black metal leading up to the climax, "Sitra Ahra," with a chorus of "Chaos! Fire! Magic! Death! We call upon the mighty forces!" I completely understand Necrophobic wanting to unleash it's anger and just shred, but on a song like this when dynamics enter in, their music becomes even more memorable and exciting.
This album, like the band name suggests is meant to be 60 minutes of pure evil. The intro for the album is called "The Slaughter of Baby Jesus" for god's sake. Hrimthursum is just that, but it's the gothic elements, excellent guitar solos and dynamics that make this album a worthy addition to a metal collection, something that many bands of this genre cannot pull off like Necrophobic.
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